Apparatus and method for remotely cleaning interior walls of tanks from the tank exterior

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for cleaning liquid-filled tanks, e.g., aquariums, includes an inner cleaning assembly which moves across the interior wall of the tank and an outer cleaning assembly which moves across the exterior wall of the tank. The inner and outer cleaning assembly are magnetically attracted to each other so that manipulation of the outer cleaning assembly results in corresponding motion of the inner cleaning assembly. The inner cleaning assembly bears a cleaning pad which moves across the tank wall to clean matter therefrom. The inner cleaning assembly is buoyant so that interruption of the magnetic engagement between the inner and outer cleaning assemblies results in the inner cleaning assembly floating to the top of the liquid-filled tank for easier retrieval. One or more accessory attachment members may be provided, each of which is removably attachable to the inner cleaning assembly, and these may bear scrapers and/or coarser or finer cleaning pads so as to allow the inner cleaning assembly to be adapted for desired cleaning operations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/884,246 filed Jun. 19, 2001, which in turn claims priorityunder 35 USC §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/270,547filed Feb. 21, 2001, the entireties of these applications beingincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This disclosure concerns an invention relating generally tocleaning apparata, and more specifically to scrubbing/wiping apparatafor remotely cleaning the inside walls of containers (such asfluid-filled tanks) from the outside of the container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] It is often necessary or convenient to clean the inside walls offluid-filled tanks from the outsides of such tanks, thereby whollyavoiding the need for the cleaning personnel to enter the fluid-filledtank. While this task is frequently encountered in largescale industrialtanks in the food, chemical, drug, and other industries, the task'sdifficulties may be better grasped if considered in more commonsurroundings, such as the task of cleaning a home aquarium tank.Aquariums are designed to host aquatic life in a natural and attractivemanner. Maintaining an attractive aquarium requires regular care andcleaning to achieve this goal. The walls of aquariums accumulate algae,including hard coralline algae, and this needs to be removed with theleast amount of disturbance to the aquarium's inhabitants to maintain anattractive view. Current cleaning apparata which use razor blades toremove algae can be dangerous for the aquatic life within the aquarium(as well as for the user).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] The Figure presents an exploded perspective view of an exemplarytank cleaning apparatus in accordance with the invention, shown arrangedabout a partial view of tank walls 100 (shown in phantom).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The invention involves a tank cleaning apparatus which isintended to at least partially solve the aforementioned problems. Togive the reader a basic understanding of some of the advantageousfeatures of the invention, following is a brief summary of preferredversions of the tank cleaning apparatus. The claims set forth at the endof this document then define the various versions of the invention inwhich exclusive rights are secured.

[0006] With reference to the accompanying Figure, an exemplary apparatusfor cleaning the inner surfaces of tanks, e.g., aquariums and the like,is shown by a pair of cleaning assemblies 10 and 12 adapted for mutualmagnetic engagement on opposite sides of an aquarium tank wall 100(shown in phantom), and an optional accessory attachment member 14 to bedescribed elsewhere in this document. Both of the cleaning assemblies 10and 12 include an enclosure housing 16 of waterproof or water-resistantmaterial which has an engagement face 18 intended to ride across theaquarium walls. The engagement face 18 of the inner cleaning assembly 10bears a cleaning pad 20 made of scrubbing material. This scrubbingmaterial may be fabric, a tendril-bearing material such as VELCROhook-and-loop material, or other semi-abrasive materials which areuseful to remove algae and dirt (such as scrubbing materials commonlyused for kitchen and bathroom cleaning implements), but which are not sohard that they scratch the aquarium walls 100. The engagement face 18 ofthe outer cleaning assembly 12 includes a sliding pad 22 which ispreferably made of felt or a similar low-friction material which allowsthe outer cleaning assembly 12 to slide across the outside wall 100 ofthe aquarium without scratching it. However, this sliding pad 22 mayalso be made of scrubbing material such as hook-and-loop material; as anexample, it may be made of loop-bearing fabric where the cleaning pad 20is made of hook-bearing fabric, thereby allowing the inner and outercleaning assemblies 10 and 12 to be affixed together at their engagementfaces 18 for convenient storage as a unit when not in use.

[0007] At least one strong permanent magnet 24, e.g., a rare earthmagnet, is secured within the enclosure housing 16 of at least one ofthe cleaning assemblies 10 and 12, with the other cleaning assemblyhaving magnetically attractable material therein, such as another magnet24 or one or more pieces of a magnetically attractable metal. Mostpreferably, the enclosure housing 16 of both cleaning assemblies 10 and12 include at least one magnet therein. A particularly preferredarrangement is to include two or more magnets 24 within each cleaningassembly so that the magnets 24 are spaced along a plane parallel to theengagement face 18 of each cleaning assembly. These magnets 24 aresituated in close proximity to their engagement faces 18 so that themagnets 24 will thus be in close proximity to each other when theengagement faces 18 are situated on opposite sides of an aquarium wall100, thereby pulling the engagement faces 18 tightly against theaquarium wall 100. The use of multiple spaced magnets 24 within eachassembly can be useful to more closely maintain the orientation of theinner cleaning assembly 10 in accordance with that of the outer cleaningassembly 12, i.e., the edges of the engagement faces 18 of theassemblies 10 and 12 will be maintained in alignment (or nearly so). Inthe Figure, the outer cleaning assembly 12 is illustrated with a door 26in its enclosure housing 16 (shown removed) allowing access to themagnets 24 therein. The magnets 24 may be adhered to the enclosurehousing 16 of their cleaning assemblies by use of adhesives; may besecured within sockets formed within their cleaning assemblies; and/ormay be removably held in place within their enclosure housings 16 byflanges or other protrusions extending from the door 26 in the assemblyfrom which the enclosure of the enclosure housing 16 is accessed.

[0008] In the most preferred versions of the invention, at least theinner cleaning assembly 10 is buoyant so that it floats within thefluid-filled tank 100 and within the user's reach if its magneticengagement with the outer cleaning assembly 12 is defeated. Thisbuoyancy of the inner cleaning assembly 10 may be accomplished, forexample, by making its enclosure housing 16 hollow and watertight, andof such a size that it contains sufficient air to offset the weight ofthe assembly. Alternatively or additionally, the inner cleaning assembly10 could be formed of a closed-cell foam or other buoyant material.Forming the inner cleaning assembly 10 of a flexible closed-cell foam,such as flexible polyurethane foam wherein the magnet(s) 24 areembedded, has the additional advantage that the inner cleaning assembly10 may be able to bend to better conform to the contours of the innertank walls 100. Where one or more of the cleaning assemblies 10 and 12are made of foam or similar materials, closed-cell foam is preferredover open-cell foam to avoid the assembly's absorption of fluid via asponging action, though open-cell foam with sealed exterior surfaces mayacceptably avoid this effect. As a result of the buoyancy of the innercleaning assembly 10, it will float to the top of the tank 100 if itsmagnetic engagement with the outer cleaning assembly 12 is defeated, andthere is no need for tethers or other structure extending from theoutside of the tank 100 to the inner cleaning assembly 10 to fish it outof the tank 100 from a submerged location. While such tethers couldalternatively or additionally be used with the assembly 10, they arepreferably avoided because they can disrupt aquatic life and get snaggedon interior aquarium decorations. Since the inner cleaning assembly 10is buoyant and lightweight, it is less likely to disengage duringcleaning, and it is also less likely to crack the aquarium wall 100.

[0009] A significant advantage is obtained where the cleaning pad 20 ofthe inner cleaning assembly 10, and/or the sliding pad 22 of the outercleaning assembly 12, are made of hook-and-loop material. This allows anaccessory attachment member 14 which also bears hook-and-loop material28 to engage to the cleaning pad 20 or sliding pad 22 so that theaccessory attachment member 14 may be situated between the cleaning pad20 of the inner cleaning assembly 10 and the sliding pad 22 of the outercleaning assembly 12 when the cleaning pad 20 and sliding pad 22 aremagnetically attracted into close proximity on opposite sides of a tankwall 100. As an example, an accessory attachment member 14 may be formedof fine (less coarse) scrubbing material backed by hook-and-loopmaterial 28 so that the accessory attachment member 14 can engage to thecleaning pad 20 of the inner cleaning assembly 10, thereby effectivelysituating the fine scrubbing material on the engagement face 18 of theinner cleaning assembly 10. This can be helpful where the tank cleaningapparatus is to be used in both glass aquariums, which may benefit frommore coarse scrubbing material, and acrylic tanks, which may requirefine scrubbing material to avoid scratching. As another example, anaccessory attachment member 14 could be formed of a metal or hardplastic plate backed by hook-and-loop material, wherein this plate hasprotruding comers or other structure so as to define one or more hardscraping ridges 30 to be situated on or adjacent to the engagement face18 of the inner cleaning assembly 10 for removal of hard corallinealgae.

[0010] A accessory attachment member as described above can also beprovided as an attachment which is affixable and removable from portionsof the inner cleaning assembly 10 apart from its engagement face 18. Inthe Figure, the inner cleaning assembly 10 has a bent or dovetailed slot32 that runs along at least a portion of its length, and a accessoryattachment member 34 is provided with a flange 36 that may becomplementarily fit within the slot 32 so that the accessory attachmentmember 34 may be slidably engaged to the inner cleaning assembly 10.Alternatively, the accessory attachment member 34 may be affixed to theinner cleaning assembly 10 by other complementary engaging structures,permanent or removable fasteners, or adhesives. The accessory attachmentmember 34 may be made of a hard material such as acrylic or other hardplastics, metal, or ceramic materials, and its scraping ridge 38 may beprovided by a single sharp corner that bears against the aquarium wall.Alternatively, as shown by the accessory attachment member 14, where theaccessory attachment member has a face which rests on the aquarium'sinner wall (rather than just a comer), the scraping ridges may beprovided by sharp or semi-sharp corners on opposing edges of this face,or the scraping ridges may alternatively be provided by a series ofraised ridges extending across this face. Rather than being permanent,the scraping ridge(s) could additionally or alternatively be provided byinserts which are replaceable, e.g., by removable and replaceableblades, which also allows a user to remove selected ridges so that onlya desired number of ridges are included.

[0011] To initiate cleaning, one cleaning assembly is disposed with itsengagement face 18 on the inner surface of an aquarium wall 100, and theother cleaning assembly is disposed on the outer surface of the aquariumwall 100 directly adjacent to the inner cleaning assembly 10 and inmagnetic engagement therewith. Translational movement of the outercleaning assembly 12 causes likewise translation of the inner cleaningassembly 10 across the inner surface of the aquarium wall 100 to causethe scrubbing material of the cleaning pad 20 on the engagement face 18to remove the accumulated algae and dirt therefrom.

[0012] It should be understood that the various preferred versions ofthe invention are described above and shown in the drawings toillustrate different possible features of the invention and the varyingways in which these features may be combined. Apart from combining thedifferent features of the above embodiments in varying ways, othermodifications are also considered to be within the scope of theinvention. Following is an exemplary list of such modifications.

[0013] First, it should be understood that the inner and outer cleaningassemblies 10 and 12 may be made identically so that they can each besimilarly manufactured, and each can be used in the interior or exteriorof the aquarium. It is noted that throughout this document, when it isstated that the cleaning assemblies are “identical”, this is intended tomean that the cleaning assemblies are products of the same manufacturingprocess and are thus identical in all substantial structural respects;however, they may have different colors, or perhaps different materials(perhaps being molded from different plastics), or other differenceswhich give rise to different appearances but no substantial differencein performance.

[0014] Second, it is emphasized that the cleaning pad 20 may bepermanently or replaceably provided on the inner cleaning assembly 10(and the outer cleaning assembly 12 if desired), as by providing it asan insert on the cleaning assembly or assemblies, as an adhesiveapplique, or otherwise providing it as a removable and replaceablecomponent so that it may be replaced when worn. As an example,adhesive-backed VELCRO hook-and-loop fastener material may besemi-permanently adhered to the engagement face 18 of the inner cleaningassembly 10. The inner cleaning assembly 10 may have rounded cornersbounding the engagement face 18 so that when the hook-and-loop materialextends around these corners, the hook-and-loop material will bend todefine sharper corners on the engagement face 18, with thesehook-and-loop corners being well suited to scrub the corners of theinner wall of the aquarium 100. Once this cleaning pad 20 becomes worn,it may be peeled off of the engagement face 18 and replaced.

[0015] Third, a accessory attachment member similar to the accessoryattachment member 14 may be fit on a different face of the innercleaning assembly 10 than the engagement face 18 upon which the cleaningpad 20 is provided—for example, on a face adjacent to the engagementface 18—so that either the accessory attachment member or the cleaningpad 20 may be used as the user desires, by simply situating the desiredface against the wall of the aquarium 100. The accessory attachmentmember may instead be fit on the same engagement face 18 of the innercleaning assembly 10 as the cleaning pad 20, with the cleaning pad 20also being removably attached to the engagement face 18 of the innercleaning assembly 10, so that the accessory attachment member andcleaning pad 20 may be removed and interchangeably replaced. Theaccessory attachment member could instead be fit alongside the cleaningpad 20 on the same or adjacent faces of the inner cleaning assembly 10as the cleaning pad 20 so that both the cleaning pad 20 and accessoryattachment member may be used simultaneously. It is also possible toprovide more than one accessory attachment member, e.g., on the faces ofthe inner cleaning assembly 10 adjacent the engagement face 18 bearingthe cleaning pad 20, so that the scraping ridges of these accessoryattachment members protrude to rest within generally the same plane asthe cleaning pad 20, whereby both the scraping ridges and cleaning pad20 will bear against the aquarium walls at the same time.

[0016] Fourth, the inner and/or outer assemblies (or merely theirengagement faces 18) can be made of flexible material that will conformto the contours of aquarium walls 100 of any shape so that contactbetween the aquarium walls 100 and the cleaning pad 20 is maximized. Ifthe inner and/or outer assemblies are rigid, this flexibility can beprovided by situating a flexible pad between the cleaning pad 20 and theengagement face 18 of the inner cleaning assembly 10, and/or between thesliding pad 22 and the engagement face 18 of the outer cleaning assembly12.

[0017] Fifth, it is also possible to make the inner cleaning assembly 10capable of traversing corners within the interior of the aquarium 100when the outer cleaning assembly 12 is moved across the outer surface ofthe aquarium 100 and around a corner. As one example, when cleaningassemblies 10 and 12 are defined by rectangular prisms, such as thoseshown in the Figure, and the cleaning assemblies are to be used in arectangular aquarium, the cleaning assemblies might have multiple facescovered by cleaning or sliding pads 20 or 22, and the magnet or magnets24 within their enclosure housings might be freely movable therein, ormight alternatively be mounted therein on a rotatable axle or othermoving structure which allows the magnet(s) 24 to move adjacent todifferent faces of the cleaning assemblies. To illustrate, a user mightslide the outer cleaning assembly 12 along the outside of a firstaquarium wall up to a corner where the first aquarium wall joins asecond aquarium wall. This causes the inner cleaning assembly 10 tosimilarly slide upon the first aquarium wall (and within the aquarium100) to abut the corner, with one of its faces abutting the firstaquarium wall and an adjacent one of its faces abutting the secondaquarium wall. As the user then slides the outer cleaning assembly 12around the corner to the second aquarium wall, and maintains the outercleaning assembly in close proximity to the aquarium wall, the magnet(s)24 will move within the inner cleaning assembly 10 to a locationadjacent the face of the first cleaning assembly 10 which abuts thesecond aquarium wall. Thus, the user may have the second cleaningassembly 12 orbit the aquarium 100, and each side about a circumferenceof the first cleaning assembly 10 will clean a different wall of theaquarium. As another exemplary arrangement, the inner cleaning assembly10 can be formed of a pliable, sack-like outer enclosure housing made ofabrasive material, such as woven synthetic material commonly used inabrasive mitts and cookware scrubbers, with magnetic (or magneticallyattractable) bearings situated within the enclosure housing. Chunks orballs of foam or other material can also be included in the enclosurehousing if flotation of the inner cleaning assembly 10 is desired. Theinner cleaning assembly 10 might then resemble a beanbag in that it mayhave sufficient flexibility to slide along a first inner aquarium wallup to a corner within the interior of the aquarium 100. It may then restin this interior corner as the outer cleaning assembly 12 moves aboutthe exterior corner of the aquarium, and may then move onto the adjacentwall of the aquarium 100 as the outer cleaning assembly 12 passes thecorner. The pliable shape of the inner cleaning assembly 10 allows it toeffectively flex or roll around interior corners when desired. Buoyancymay also be provided in this version of the invention by forming theenclosure housing of the inner cleaning assembly 10 of an airtightgas-filled pouch, somewhat like a balloon, wherein magnetic members aresituated.

[0018] The invention is not intended to be limited to the preferredversions described above, but rather is intended to be limited only bythe claims set out below. Thus, the invention encompasses all alternateembodiments that fall literally or equivalently within the scope ofthese claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tank cleaning apparatus comprising: a. a firstcleaning assembly having a cleaning pad situated thereon, the cleaningpad being made of scrubbing material, the first cleaning assembly beingbuoyant when placed in water; b. a second cleaning assembly having asliding pad situated thereon, wherein one of the first and secondcleaning assemblies includes a magnet and the other of the first andsecond cleaning assemblies includes magnetically attractable materialarranged in such a manner that the cleaning pad is pulled toward thesliding pad when the cleaning pad and sliding pad are in closeproximity.
 2. The tank cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein thecleaning pad and sliding pad are both made of scrubbing material.
 3. Thetank cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first cleaning assemblyis identical to the second cleaning assembly.
 4. The tank cleaningapparatus of claim 1 wherein the scrubbing material is hook-and-loopmaterial.
 5. The tank cleaning apparatus of claim 4 wherein the slidingpad is also made of hook-and-loop material, with the sliding pad of thesecond cleaning assembly being affixable to the cleaning pad of thefirst cleaning assembly to allow storage of the tank cleaning apparatusas a unit.
 6. The tank cleaning apparatus of claim 4 further comprisingat least one accessory attachment member bearing hook-and-loop material,the accessory attachment member being configured to engage to thecleaning pad of the first cleaning assembly and thereby be situatedbetween the cleaning pad of the first cleaning assembly and the slidingpad of the second cleaning assembly when the cleaning pad and slidingpad are magnetically attracted into close proximity.
 7. The tankcleaning apparatus of claim 6 wherein the accessory attachment memberbears at least one of coarse scrubbing material, fine scrubbingmaterial, or a scraper bearing a sharp elongated ridge thereon.
 8. Thetank cleaning apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an accessoryattachment member which: a. is removably attachable to the firstcleaning assembly, and b. bears at least one scraping ridge thereon, thescraping ridge resting generally within the plane of the cleaning padwhen removably attached to the first cleaning assembly.
 9. The tankcleaning apparatus of claim 8 wherein the accessory attachment member isremovably attachable to the cleaning pad of the first cleaning assembly.10. The tank cleaning apparatus of claim 8 wherein the accessoryattachment member is removably attachable to the first cleaning assemblyat a location adjacent to the cleaning pad.
 11. The tank cleaningapparatus of claim 8 wherein the accessory attachment member isremovably attachable to the first cleaning assembly by a protrudingmember extending from the accessory attachment member and being receivedin the first cleaning assembly.
 12. The tank cleaning apparatus of claim11 wherein the protruding member is a flange received within a slot inthe first cleaning assembly.
 13. The tank cleaning apparatus of claim 12wherein the slot is aligned at least substantially parallel to thecleaning pad.
 14. The tank cleaning apparatus of claim 8 wherein theaccessory attachment member is removably attachable to the firstcleaning assembly by hook-and-loop fastener material.
 15. The tankcleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first cleaning assemblycontains two or more magnets therein, the magnets being spaced along aplane parallel to the cleaning pad.
 16. The tank cleaning apparatus ofclaim 15 wherein a metallic bridge member extends between at least twoof the magnets.
 17. The tank cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein thefirst cleaning assembly is hollow and includes sufficient air thereinthat the first cleaning assembly will float in water.
 18. A tankcleaning apparatus comprising cleaning assemblies wherein: a. at leastone cleaning assembly bears a cleaning pad thereon; b. the cleaningassemblies are magnetically attracted to each other; and c. at least oneof the cleaning assemblies is lighter than water.
 19. A tank cleaningapparatus comprising: a. a first cleaning assembly having a cleaning padsituated thereon, the cleaning pad being made of scrubbing material; b.a second cleaning assembly having a sliding pad situated thereon, and c.an accessory attachment member removably attachable to the firstcleaning assembly, the accessory attachment member bearing a scrapingridge which rests at least substantially within the plane of thecleaning pad, wherein the cleaning assemblies are magnetically attractedto each other so that the cleaning pad is pulled toward the sliding padwhen the cleaning pad and sliding pad are in close proximity on opposingsides of a tank wall.